Islam strikes wisest balance between hard and soft measures
Islam is the way for mankind and not a “religion,” as this term has its contemporary connotation in the West. Islam is on earth to show light in cases where darkness is prevailing and causing much confusion and problems. Thus, Islam is not historical material or emotional attachment that has no day-to-day implications on our contemporary issues.
Islam is meant to “lead” mankind. Its greatest topic is the hardest topic for any society, and that is: how to create quality “human” who creates a better life for all. The failures of the West (and East) are the failure of leaders to create “human” beings and lead societies to well-being.
Creating “man” is the toughest job on earth. The best fit for such a job is the “creator” of man because He knows the nuts and bolts of this complex creature called “man.”
Others who claim the right to create “man” today are fellow men with inherent weaknesses and whom we call judges, leaders, gurus, etc. Their ways and methods of creating human beings are (to say it mildly) experimental, error-prone, incomplete, and biased. Often these elders disguise ill intentions to power and dictatorship while legislating and ruling for the masses shrouded with arrangements to perpetuate their power and sovereignty. Today this incompetency and ill-intention is manifested in ever-increasing gaps between the haves and have-nots.
The greatest form of oppression and injustice happens at the end of a war, where the victor feels no accountability towards the “human beings” whose communities are conquered. Check the “rape of Nanking” or “The Jerusalem Crusade massacre occurred in 1099”.
To appreciate the superiority of God’s Rule vs. the inferiorly of man-made rule, check the early battles of Islam and the behavior towards the cities and population that fell under the power of Muslim leader and prophet Muhammad - peace be upon him.
The Battle of Badr was the first battle of Islam. Muslims were - in material terms - weak and a minority. Allah granted Muslims victory, and they captured a lot of the fiercest enemies of Islam. In such cases, the recommended solution came in this verse (8:67)
It is not fit for a prophet that he should take captives until he has thoroughly subdued the land.
In later years, Islam became strong and established itself as a superpower in Arabia. The Conquest of Makkah was akin to the Japanese victory over China (and the rape of Nanking) or the Crusade’s victory over the Muslims of Jerusalem. But contrast what they did to what Prophet Muhammad did. He followed another instruction of Allah in cases when Muslims are strong: (verse 47:4)
Later ˹free them either as˺ an act of grace or by ransom until the war comes to an end.
The Prophet - at the time of strength and superiority - granted grace to all Meccans (except individual cases).
This is just a sample to show you that Islam does not work with the same mindset of other dictators who want to exercise utmost power to subdue fellow human being and extract as much wealth unjustly from the population.